Paintball centre in Temong torched days before tournament
It is very disappointing and demoralising when such things happen, especially when we are trying to help bring such things directly to the people.
Just a few days away from hosting their Winter Paintball celebrity tournament, Snipers Paintball Centre, situated in Temong Section, was dealt a heavy blow.
This is after the state-of-the-art township paintball playing field was torched to ashes by unknown people on Friday night.
One of the founder members, Percy Mehlape, said this is a major setback, not only to them, but to the entire community as the centre was rapidly becoming one of the township’s major attraction joints. He said the damage will cost over R50 000 to repair.
“We woke up on Saturday morning and found the centre torched like this. This happened at a crucial time when we were busy preparing for our tournament. We don’t have any choice but to go back to the drawing board and forge a way forward,” said a devastated Mehlape.
Mehlape took The Tembisan on a tour of their ‘battlefield’ and the only items not severely damaged were the tyres used for the purposes of hiding and ducking bullets.
“It is very disappointing and demoralising when such things happen, especially when we are trying to help bring such things directly to the people.
“We will go and officially report this to the police but we would also like to appeal to the community to help us track down these culprits,” said Mehlape.
Just a month ago, this battlefield became a hive of activities when it hosted a tournament which was attended by the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns star Oupa Manyisa and a few local celebrities.
“It’s really sad what has happened here. Since this centre came to being, we have seen a change in our children’s behaviours and they have been kept busy and occupied here. This is what we are looking for as parents. We want our children far away from the streets and crime and this centre provided just that,” said Paul Mthimunye, a community member.
Mthimunye made an appeal to government at large to come to the space and help such township initiatives grow and prosper.
“I just wish government or the City of Ekurhuleni could come here and see what young people are doing for themselves and for our communities. Government must adopt such initiatives because they help fight crime and drug abuse,” said Mthimunye.
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